The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1887-03-25
TWO MAINE STORIES.
The Minister'S Ducks aud Tom Crowiey's
Estimate of Il der Adams.

While slcaming down the ST. Croix
river with Capt Wooster on the swift
tug William Kinds the captain told ne
two yarns that arc wei! worth repeating.
says Il writer in the Lewiston (Me }
Journal We were passing the town OF
Perry. A young lady of 10 years.
another captains daughter. took tho
wheel and managed it like an ancient
mariner, and the captain was at liberty
to suck his cigar and tell his stories.
"a minister who used to live here i'm
the town of Perry" said he. "was once
visited by another minister on Sum
day; SO he killed two ducks and or.iered
his hired girl to dress and cook them
for dinner. The girl did rs she was
told, but while the duct II We're roasting
Being hungry, and tempted by the smell
of the sizzling fowl, he seized one of tho
ducks and ate it.
1.-The girl was driven to her wits
ends by this unlucky incident She was
rather glad her beau had such nice
dinner, but despaired at finding an ex-
cuse TO tell the minister-let's call him
Mr.. Brownie account for the missing
duck. When Minister Brown came
home to dinner with Visiting Minister
Jones the girl had hit upon a scheme.
She asked her employer to go out to tho
grindstone which stood in the yard and
sharpen the carving-knife. He went at
work on the knife at once, being hungry
for those ducks. The girl stole upstairs
and asked the visiting minister to look
out of the window.
See therep' said she. Il came up
to give you warning. You little know
the danger you're in. The man l work
for is crazy, and he is sharpening that
knife to cut your throat!
The girl succeeded in thoroughly
alarming the visitor. apd he hastily put
on his hat and ran as fast as his legs
could take him.
when he had run several rods the
girl called her master and asked him
what kind of a man he had brought
home to dinner. The minister Inquired
why she asked, when, pointing to the
flying brother, the girl exclaimed:
There he goes, running away with one
of your ducks?'"
The captains other story concerned
the notorious Elder Adams, who con-
Quoted the bewildered Maine colonists
to Palestine and abandoned them in
poverty there. When Elder Adams was
preaching his crusade he had to con-
tend against many scofIers and doubters.
One OF them was Jonesport man
named Tom Crowley.
AT one of Elder Adams meetings in
Jonesport," quoth the captain, "Tom
Crowley arose and said he had dreamed
u dream which he would like to tell.
The elder told him TO 90 ahead, and
Tom proceeded. He said nc dreamed
the devil had got possession of him and
would not let him go unless he CTom)
would name three things he could not
do. SO he first asked the devil to part
the Atlantic ocean so an army could
march across, rs the Israelites did, and
the devil easily did it. Then Tom
asked him to tell him where wreck Law
in which Tom once was cast away, and
the devil told him to q dot. AS last
resort, said Tom, i dreamed L asked
the devil to produce bigger liar than
Elder Adams, but the devil acknowl-
edged he could not do 1t and gave me
up
Toms dream produced great SEN
sation in the meeting-head her for
that old barn!' exclaimed the captain,
suddenly turning his attention from me
TO the girl at the wheel.
II the rest of Elder Adams hearers
had taken Toms measure of that monu-
mental fraud they would have saved
themselves vast deal of suffering.